


I'll Wait Up For You Dear

by dumbhuman



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-04
Updated: 2014-01-04
Packaged: 2018-01-07 11:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1119538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dumbhuman/pseuds/dumbhuman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris went into the store looking for a present. Instead, he found Darren.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Wait Up For You Dear

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr in September 2013

Chris’s eyes flew open in horror. He slid his hand across his face in an attempt to recover from the sudden transition from asleep to awake and looked over at the clock on the nightstand of his childhood bedroom, the red glowing numbers taking a few minutes to focus without his glasses on: 11:17. _Shit_. Forty-three minutes before Christmas Day was not the time to realize that you had forgotten to buy your sister a present.

He couldn’t figure out how it had happened. He was always super organized when it came to gifts, with lists synced between his computer and his phone that were cross-referenced with an extensive system of bookmark folders on Chrome. He deleted each link when it was purchased and crossed it off of the list immediately. He even kept track of the shipping dates. Chris leant over the side of his bed until his hand hit the floor, moving it around blindly until he came in contact with the cool plastic of his laptop. Maneuvering it around so he could lift it with one hand, he brought it up to his lap and lifted the lid, squinting as he blearily felt for the button to turn down the glaring brightness. Well, he was definitely awake now. As the computer logged on, he checked the list on his phone and confirmed that his sister’s name was the only unmarked lettering; every other entry was crossed out. Huh.

A quick check of his bookmarks showed that Hannah’s folder was empty. Chris clenched his teeth and glared at the computer screen, willing it to reveal how this could have happened. His immaculate system had failed him, and he wanted to know why. When his eyes skimmed over the bottom of his screen, however, he realized that the mystery would have to be solved later. 11:34. He needed to find _something_ , and time was running out fast.

-

Chris flew down the deserted road, grateful that everyone was either sleeping or dealing with their own presents – wrapped and being placed under a tree as they rightfully should be, no doubt – to be out at this time of night. As he passed dark building after dark building, he absentmindedly rubbed at the leather cuff covering the small _DEC_ on the inside of his wrist. Something was bound to be open, somewhere. Chis pressed just a little harder on the gas. He’d find something. He had to.

-

When he finally got out of his car, he was 30 miles from home. Everything in Clovis had been closed, as was the norm in the small town. After he spent a solid ten minutes circling the jammed Walmart parking lot, he decided that trying to find someplace smaller would probably work better. The exit that lead to the mall was backed up for half a mile. It should have been comforting that so many people seemed to be in the same situation as Chris, but he just beat himself up even more for planning as poorly as all of them. It was almost an hour into Christmas Day at this point; he didn’t have time to brood.

Once he recovered from almost running into one of the automatic doors – they really needed to make those open faster – Chris narrowly avoided colliding with an apron-clad man with a mop or dark, curly hair.

"Welcome to the Toy Box! Let me know if I can help-"

"FOR THE THOUSANDTH TIME, CRISS, WE ARE WAY TOO BUSY FOR YOU TO BE PLAYING GREETER. NOW GET YOUR ASS BACK TO RESTOCKING THOSE SHELVES."

Chris perked up when he heard his name yelled across the store, but the imposing woman at the register seemed to be directing her wrath towards his companion. Well, that explained the apron, though the overabundance of energy at one in the morning was really throwing Chris off.

The guy – Chris? – leaned into Chris’s bubble of space, but before he could call him out on it, he was whispering in Chris’s ear. “Ashley thinks she can tell me what to do just because she’s been here twice as long as I have. But she doesn’t fucking know what she’s talking about.” He took a step away from Chris and looked around quickly, like he was afraid Ashley may have heard him even though she was on the other side of the store and obviously swamped at her register. “We’re not a fucking Toys R Us; we don’t have an unlimited supply of merchandise. It’s Christmas Day, there’s nothing left to restock.”

Chris laughed at that, trying and failing to hold it back. But the mention of the day reminded him why he was there.

And that he had no idea what to buy.

“Um, actually, you might be able to help me?” Chris hated asking for help, hated feeling like he couldn’t do something on his own, but time was running out. He had to swallow his pride. For Hannah.

He lifted his gaze from where it was focused on his shoes to land on the arm that was being offered to him, elbow crooked and waiting for Chris’s own arm to wrap around it. “I’d be happy to be your guide.”

Chris stared at the endearing eyes lookng back at him, lips quirked in a smile and eyebrows – and wow were those some eyebrows, he hadn’t even noticed before with the hair to distract him – raised, waiting for Chris to accept the invitation.

Oh, what the hell. He was in a toy store in the early hours of the morning on Christmas day and a cute guy was offering him his arm. What did Chris have to lose?

-

“Okay, so – shit, I just realized I don’t know your name! I must suck at my job if I don’t know your name.”

Chris put down the Bratz doll he had been holding and turned to look at Chris McCurly. He’d assumed he was joking, but he was looking sadly through his eyelashes, like a scolded puppy. Chris swallowed heavily before speaking. “You work at a toy store. That in no way requires you to become personally acquainted with customers.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, kind sir.” Kind sir? Really? “Tonight, I am your personal shopping assistant.” Did he seriously just _bow_? Who _does_ that? “‘Personal’ is in the title. Ergo, first names are a must.”

Chris shook his head and hid his smile. This guy was ridiculous…but in a surprisingly cute way. “You make a compelling argument, _kind sir._ ” He extended his hand, a bit hesitantly. He couldn’t really remember the last time he had actually shook someone’s hand. “Chris.”

He could swear he felt something when their hands touched. Or maybe it was just static electricity from the fleece Barbie blanket he’d been looking at a few minutes ago. That must have been it. “Darren.”

Wait, what? “Wait, your name is Darren? Then why did your friend at the register call you Chris?”

Darren’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a second before it clicked. “Ah, Ashley likes to call us by our last names. Just one of her many – ahem - quirks. Darren Criss, C-R-I-S-S.” He was gesticulating quite a bit at this point. If Chris didn’t know any better, he’d think Darren was flustered. Huh. “Confusing, I know.”

Chris blinked a few times, taking a minute to process the name change. He berated the flutter in his chest, the little voice in the back of his head that was excitedly pointing out Darren’s initials, how his first and last name match up with Chris’s mark, how – if his middle name started with an E – he could be the one. Chris ignored the voice until it quieted; he didn’t have time to daydream. He looked down at the Bratz doll in his hand, sighed, and turned back around to face Darren. “Okay, so this isn’t going to work.”

“Woah, not cool. We already exchanged names and stuff.” Darren leaned back against the shelf of creepily realistic baby dolls, arms crossed like he just won an argument. Like there even was an argument at all. Idiot.

“No, no, not you!” Definitely not you. “I meant this aisle.” He looked around at the pink, the dolls, the dresses and frills. It wasn’t Darren’s fault. He’d really only had ’14 year old sister’ to go on.

“It’s just…none of this is really her thing. Though…when was the last time you shopped for a 14 year old girl?” He pointed to the _For Ages 6+_ label on the nearest plastic tiara to emphasize his point.

“Shut up.” Darren was mumbling again. And, if Chris didn’t know better, he would have sworn there was a pink tint to his cheeks. “Princesses are fucking awesome.”

Chris perked up a little at that. Even though Darren was probably talking about Disney princesses. Which were totally awesome in their own way, Chris still utilized his family’s extensive DVD collection whenever he was home, but he couldn’t help being a little biased toward _his_ princesses. _His_ world.

“First of all, dude, you don’t know how happy I am to find a fellow Disney geek-”

Had Chris just said all of that out loud? Well, apparently he lost his filter around 2 a.m.. Good to know.

“-but what do you mean by _your_ princesses?”

If this was any other night, any other person, Chris would have been mortified at the slip up, would have refused to even begin to open up about the worlds and characters in his head. But it was 2 o’clock on Christmas morning, and it was Darren.

“How about we head over to the book section, which I think will be a bit more up Hannah’s alley, and I’ll explain on the way?” Chris nodded his head in the direction of the aisle full of books and puzzles, resting his hand on his hip as he waited for Darren to lead the way. He started a little at the unexpected feeling of Darren slipping his arm through his, but he let it go. It actually felt kind of nice.

“So, when I was a kid, I really, really loved fairytales…”

-

“So all of the princes, the Charming’s, they’re brothers? Oh, that is _so_ genius.” Darren’s eyes lit up as he talked, and if they weren’t walking, Chris would definitely be trying to figure out just what color they were. Which wasn’t totally creepy or anything. “I never really thought about what happened to Goldilocks once she ran away, but becoming a fugitive? That’s so fucking badass. You _need_ to write this someday, Chris.”

Chris ducked his head, not used to the praise. It felt…really nice, unsurprisingly. But not just because he was being complimented. They barely knew each other, but Chris found himself valuing Darren’s opinion immensely.

 _Fuck_ , he was in deep.

“Thanks, Darren. You…you don’t know how much that means to me.” He cleared his throat and turned to face the shelf of books, trying and failing to hold back the thoughts of _what if_ that he hadn’t toyed with in a long time. It had been a while since he’d last let himself dream, of publishing and book deals and signings and making a name for himself.

Chris shook his head, trying to clear it of the thoughts that had made his heart race. He had a job to do.

“Okay, Mr. Personal Shopper, what do you recommend?”

When Chris looked back over at Darren, he could have sworn the other man had been staring at him. His deer in the headlights expression, however quickly he schooled his features into a more innocent one, heightened Chris’s suspicions. He pushed it to the back of his mind as Darren slid his hand across the spines, deep in thought.

Hannah. Right.

“Okay, so, _Maze Runner_ is really popul-”

“She’s read it.”

“I’ve heard good things about Scott Westerfeld’s _Leviathan_?”

“Birthday present.”

“ _Catching Fire?_ ”

“Twice in a week.”

“The _Harry Potter_ series is always a good fallback.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Darren gasped, obviously assuming that Chris was dissing the series. He rolled his eyes and clarified.

“We’ve gone to midnight releases since _Goblet_. The _Half-Blood Prince_ movie release was the highlight of her summer. Potter’s been covered.”

Darren grinned and held his hands up in surrender. “You’re the one who suggested books, dude. It’s not my fault your sister is crazy well-read.”

Chris was lucky that Hannah was back on her meds again. 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. She wouldn’t be running down to the tree at the crack of dawn like he used to. Even that wasn’t enough to reassure him, though. He slid down to the floor, eye-level with the crossword puzzles and word searches, and rubbed his eyes, groaning. “At this rate, it’ll be New Year’s before I find anything.”

He looked up when he heard a light _thump_ from beside him, and saw Darren mirroring his position on his left. “Hey, never say never. It’s Christmas. Y’know, the season of giving and magic and shit.”

Chris laughed. He couldn’t help it. He was sitting on the dirty floor of a toy store, mere hours away from sunrise, next to a ridiculous guy who just happened to be incredibly attractive and endearing.

He laughed even harder when Darren pouted, looking legitimately confused by Chris’s reaction to what he probably intended as a touching remark.

“I’m…I’m sorry,” Chris was gasping for air. “I just…my god, am I tired.”

Darren smiled at that, seemingly in understanding, though Chris had a feeling this guy could go for days without sleep. Which, y’know, Chris could do too. Just not while keeping up this much _energy_. “I know, it’s late, but we’ll find something soon.”

“No, it’s not that.” Chris sighed and leaned into the Darren’s shoulder as his arm wound around Chris’s back. “I’m just so tired of being scared. I thought busying myself at school would help, burying myself in my work, but it doesn’t. It doesn’t stop me from worrying every time she’s in the hospital. Not really.” He took a moment, speaking past the lump in his throat. “I’m tired of being scared that we’re going to lose her.”

Oh great. Now he was crying. On Darren.

“Oh, wow. Chris, I had no idea.” Darren’s comforting arm turned into a full on hug as the knelt in the middle of the aisle. “We are going to find the perfect fucking gift, okay?” He stood up, offering Chris his hand once he brushed it off on his pants. “And I think I know where to start.”

**-**

They ended up in the stuffed animal section. There were fluffy creatures of all shapes and sizes, lining the walls and in huge bins throughout the space.

“So Hannah’s in the hospital a lot, huh? And it sounded like you can’t always be there?” Darren walked into the middle of the room, arms outstretched, and spun around slowly. “Well, here we are. Time to find someone who can be there for her even when you can’t.”

Chris grinned and ran over to Darren. Before he knew what he was doing, his arms were around Darren and he was whispering “thank you” in his ear.

**-**

They were at opposite ends of the space, each going through the shelves meticulously, calling out when they find something particularly remarkable. Or, in Darren’s case, whenever he found a stuffed puppy.

“For the thousandth time, Darren, she’s not a dog person.”

“How can anyone not like dogs? Dogs are the best!”

“You only say that because you’re a fucking puppy.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

Chris turned back around to face the shelf, thankful that Darren didn’t hear him, when he sees her. A snowy owl, soft and cuddly but not too childish. Realistic enough for a 14 year old, but not enough to be creepy. She’s perfect.

“Darren. _Darren_.”

Chris didn’t let himself turn around, didn’t want to lose sight of the owl. And…wow, he was being really dramatic about this, but it was 3 o’clock in the fucking morning and he wanted to go _home_.

Thankfully, the room was small and Darren was somehow still full of energy, so he didn’t take long to drop the plush Snorlax he was holding and run over to Chris.

“What is it- _oh_ , she is perfect.” He followed Chris’s gaze and grinned.

“I’m going to name her-”

“Hedwig, obviously.” The ‘duh’ was blatant in Darren’s tone. As if it would be blasphemy to name her anything else.

Which it totally would.

Chris slid her off of the shelf and cradled her in his arms as they walked through the now empty store to the registers. Ashley had left half an hour ago, shaking her head at Darren as she instructed him to lock up and not to forget to turn off the light in the employee bathroom this time.

Darren made a production of walking behind the register and turning it on, choosing to use the hand-held scanner “because it’s fancier, Chris, okay? Stop laughing at me you fucker!”

Once she was not only bagged but _giftwrapped_ at Darren’s insistence, they both headed toward the door. It was still dark out, sunrise still a few hours away. It wasn’t until they both stepped outside that Chris remembered just how cold it was. Especially without a coat.

He didn’t feel quite as cold when he realized how close Darren was standing. Close enough that he could feel as well as see the clouds of warm air at each exhale. Close enough that he could finally try to figure out the color of his eyes under the fluorescent light that surrounded them, their own little spotlight. Close enough that he noticed how chapped his bottom lip was, that he could see the sheen of moisture as his tongue darted out to wet his – oh.

Close enough that he had to move back a bit for balance when Darren finally leaned in and kissed him.

A firm press of lips, a warm hand on a cold cheek, and then it was over.

Too soon.

“What’s your middle name?” His whisper was low and raspy, not just from the cold.

“Everett.”

Chris’s hand automatically went down to twist his cuff. Darren’s eyes followed and immediately widened when he realized what it meant.

“Um, Chris?” Well, look at that. Darren’s voice was raspy too. What a coincidence. “Chris, what’s your middle name? Fuck, what’s your _last_ name?”

Chris searched Darren’s eyes with his own, making a decision. Darren’s brow furrowed in confusion as Chris suddenly turned around, heading quickly toward his car.

“What the fuck was that?!”

Chris turned around, walking backwards a few steps. “My name’s on the receipt I left back at your register. Just under my phone number.” He couldn’t help the giddy smile that bloomed on his face. “Merry Christmas, Darren! Thank you so much for your help.”

He really hoped Darren understood just how much he meant it.

“Merry Christmas, asshole.”

 _Shit_ , had Chris made a huge mistake?

“Hannah’s going to love it.”

Or maybe not.

Chris squinted back through the dark, just making out Darren’s smile.

He could live with that.

**-**

“Thank you.” Chris wrapped his arms around Hannah and pulled her close.

“Um…Bubba?” Chris leaned back as his sister pulled away, confusion etched on her face. “Why are you thanking me if I haven’t even given you your present yet?”

_Yes you have._

“Can’t I hug my little sister without facing the inquisition? It’s Christmas.”

Hannah’s eyebrows lifted to her hairline, judging him, but Chris didn’t miss the small smile pulling at her lips.

“Whatever, weirdo.” She reached for the shiny bag behind Chris’s back, where he had forgotten about it. “So, what did you get me?”


End file.
